Barnett & Company Inc. Sells 3,000 Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Barnett & Company Inc. lowered its position in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 5.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 48,433 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,000 shares during the period. Kroger makes up approximately 1.9% of Barnett & Company Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Barnett & Company Inc.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $2,962,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of KR. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Kroger by 11,570.7% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,729,788 shares of the company’s stock valued at $156,417,000 after buying an additional 2,706,398 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Kroger by 6.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 33,057,629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,894,202,000 after acquiring an additional 2,110,681 shares in the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its holdings in shares of Kroger by 110.5% in the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 3,574,651 shares of the company’s stock valued at $204,828,000 after purchasing an additional 1,876,397 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Kroger in the fourth quarter worth approximately $68,581,000. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Kroger by 163.1% during the 3rd quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 1,382,537 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,219,000 after purchasing an additional 857,008 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE KR opened at $65.38 on Monday. The Kroger Co. has a 1 year low of $49.04 and a 1 year high of $68.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.54. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $63.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $59.95. The company has a market capitalization of $47.31 billion, a PE ratio of 17.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.96 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 1.85%. On average, research analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.96%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.88%.

Kroger declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on KR. Roth Mkm increased their price target on Kroger from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Kroger from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Kroger from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Kroger from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.88.

Insider Activity at Kroger

In other news, SVP Gabriel Arreaga sold 15,959 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.63, for a total transaction of $1,047,389.17. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 89,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,846,648.55. This represents a 15.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Yael Cosset sold 115,149 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.08, for a total transaction of $7,839,343.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 139,338 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,486,131.04. This represents a 45.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 212,244 shares of company stock valued at $14,282,348. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Kroger

The Kroger Co operates as a food and drug retailer in the United States. The company operates combination food and drug stores, multi-department stores, marketplace stores, and price impact warehouses. Its combination food and drug stores offer natural food and organic sections, pharmacies, general merchandise, pet centers, fresh seafood, and organic produce; and multi-department stores provide apparel, home fashion and furnishings, outdoor living, electronics, automotive products, and toys.